Exeter City lost ground in the automatic promotion race as they conceded three second half goals to go down 3-2 to play-off chasing Lincoln City.

Paul Tisdale's men effectively hit the woodwork three times in the game and led 1-0 before fighting back from 2-1 down, only to concede late on in an incredible encounter.

The Grecians originally made three changes for the game, with Lloyd James, Luke Croll and Troy Archibald-Henville coming in for Kane Wilson, Craig Woodman and Matt Jay respectively, yet they were handed a blow when Archibald-Henville pulled out pre-match and Wilson was recalled to the starting XI.

They started the game in a 4-1-4-1 formation, with Jordan Tillson sat in front of the back four – it was an interesting line-up that saw Wilson attack the wings from centre-midfield, with Hiram Boateng, playing on the right of midfield, moving into space the on-loan West Brom youngster left in the middle.

The hosts looked to move the ball forward quickly and make the most of Matt Green and Danny Rowe’s pace off of target man Matt Rhead, with Elliot Whitehouse looking dangerous attacking from deep.

Lincoln had the first sight of goal as they produced a well-worked free-kick along the floor and into the box towards Whitehouse, who lost his footing at a crucial moment and could not get power behind a shot, allowing Christy Pym to collect.

At the other end, Stockley curled a low free-kick towards goal from 20 yards that had Imps goalkeeper Ryan Allsop scrambling to turn behind the post.

Yet, from the resulting corner, in the 10 minute, City took the lead as Boateng sent in a cross towards Jayden Stockley, who found himself unmarked and he nodded home from six yards.

The Imps almost hit back in the 15 minute when right-back Neal Eardley sent in a brilliant cross towards Green, but the attacker spurned a great chance, heading wide from six yards.

Jordan Storey then did well to charge down a Rowe shot as Lincoln put some sustained pressure together.

City were forced back inside their own half for long periods of the half, with Lincoln putting a number of balls into the box, yet, in reality, Pym did not have a lot to do thanks to some stubborn defending, and the likes of Taylor, Stockley, Boateng and Wilson meant the Grecians looked a threat when they did go forward, winning a number of corners and free-kicks.

A Lincoln corner on the half-hour mark was not properly dealt with by City, causing a bit of a scramble in the box, but Dean Moxey was bundled over by an attacker, giving the Grecian a chance to alieve the danger.

In the 35 minute, City got forward well, working a free-kick down the wing to Boateng, who moved it back inside to Taylor – he held the ball up in the box nicely before teeing up James, whose shot deflected over the bar.

Lincoln continued to see more of the ball, though, with Whitehouse finding space just inside the box to volley Eardley’s cross inches over the bar.

Yet it was the Grecians who should have scored again before half-time as Stockley brilliantly peeled away from his marker in stoppage time to volley James’ corner towards goal, but the ball somehow bounced off both posts and into the arms of Ryan Allsop.

At the other end, Green bundled his way through on goal but some brilliant defending from Sweeney saw the City right-back stick in a foot to clear just as Green looked to pull the trigger, meaning the Grecians went in to half-time ahead.

Read More

The second half got off to an open start, and Whitehouse should have done better when space opened up on the edge of the box for him to fire a shot in, but his effort rolled wide of goal.

Sam Habergham then robbed Sweeney of the ball on the wing and sent in a low cross that Moxey did well to flick behind – from the resulting corner, Scott Wharton won a header that flew towards goal before Storey got up to clear it off the line. Wharton won the header from the next corner, but Pym did well to rise through a crowd of players and collect the ball.

Yet the Imps’ pressure eventually told and they equalised in the 60 minute when a long ball forward from a free-kick was flicked on by Rhead towards Whitehouse, whose shot was well saved by Pym, but Rowe was on hand to turn the rebound home from close range.

Lincoln then took the lead in the 61 minute when the Grecians were deceived by the same free-kick routine that worked in the first half, with Eardley playing a low ball into the channel from just inside the Grecians half towards Green, who had peeled off his marker, and he turned to slide the ball past Pym and into the net.

The Grecians made a double change in the 68 minute to try and find a way back into the game, with Woodman and Robbie Simpson replacing James and Croll, with Lincoln responding by making three substitutions in the space of three minutes.

City almost equalised in the 75 minute when Boateng’s corner was half-cleared to Taylor, who headed the ball back into the box towards Storey, and the young centre-back powered a half-volley towards goal that bounced off the post, with Stockley’s follow-up being blocked.

The Grecians had pushed men forward at this point and deservedly equalised in the 78 minute when Stockley and Simpson played a clever one-two, with Stockley receiving the ball in the channel and pulling it back to Jake Taylor, who finished low into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Lincoln sub Ollie Palmer then thought he had put his side back in front when he headed home a cross from close range – running the length of the pitch in jubilant celebration only to turn around and discover the referee had penalised him for a foul on his marker.

The game was on a knife edge at this point and it was Lincoln’s turn to be denied by the woodwork as a deep ball in found Wharton at the back post, but his looping header back across goal bounced off the crossbar.

Yet Palmer had his revenge in the 86th minute as he put the Imps back in front, with City failing to properly deal with a long throw into the box that was eventually cleared to the wing and put back into the back post, where the striker was waiting to fire the ball into the net with an angled finish.

Stockley then curled a 30-yard free-kick narrowly over the bar as the Grecians tried to find a way back into the game, and they were handed a lifeline when the assistant referee signalled six minutes of stoppage time at the end of the game.

Yet the closest they came to finding an equaliser was when Allsop was forced to save Stockley's header from a corner as Lincoln saw the game out.

The result means City sit five points off third with a game in hand and they will now attempt to bounce back against Cheltenham Town on Easter Monday.